The second Carter Verhaege sniped a goal to end Game 7, end the series, and end the Bruins storybook season three rounds away from where we all thought it would end, I saw the tweets, the stories, about how this completes the quartet - we now have it where the team that set the all time regular season win record in the NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL, did not win their respective title. 0-for-4.
Technically, depending on how you establish the record for the NHL, you could argue this was already the case, with the 2018-19 Lightning having the most "wins", and having lost in the first round of the playoffs, getting swept (more on them later). But here we are, in a world that somehow has gotten more "The Ringz" over time (largely due to Michael Jordan, and then cemented shut by Tom Brady), one piece of evidence in their favor is that fact. None of the best regular season teams won their title. Anomaly? Probably. But I also think it is somethign meaningful to dig deeper at.
Each of the four teams are an interesting story to themselves. The 2015-16 Warriors and 2007 Patriots are etched in the minds of anyone who followed their respective sport. I wrote a long piece at the time the 2016 Finals ended comparing the two. The weird similarities for the early season dominance that waned slightly, their less-than-stellar run to the Finals / Super Bowl. How each was already a title contending (defending Championship team in the Warriors case) team that got elevated due to an offseason pick-up: KD for the Warriors, Randy Moss for hte Patriots. Both made it 97% of the way there before throwing it all away in infamy.
These Bruins are less dramatic a story, but only because they didn't get to the final. They, like Golden State, lost a 3-1 series lead, with two of the losses obviously coming at home. They too had weird stuff that didn't happen all year impact things, like Draymond's groin kick, or here making the rash (but probably fair decision) to swap goalies for Game 7. But really, these Bruins to me share more with the final team, the 2001 Mariners.
Both teams had a sense of "how the hell is this happening?" all year long. The Bruins were a good team for many years, but after losing last year to Carolina, seemed squarely set to take a step back. Multiple players needed offseason surgery. They were aging. There were questions in goal. But none of that mattered and they put together a brilliant season. They had the MVP type in Pastrnak. They had the breakout star in goalie Linus Ullmark. They had older players, prime players, all play at their best all year long. As it stands right now, there is only one surefire HOFer on the Bruins - Patrice Bergeron. At most there will probably be four (in order of likelihood: Pastrnak, Marchand, (gap) McAvoy). This was a team that just operated out of their minds.
The 2001 Mariners were a lot like that. Bret Boone for a year was the best RBI-man in baseball. Ichiro came out of nowhere and hit .350. The pitching staff was unheralded but put together the best staff in baseball for a season - much like the two goalies here. They were also a team that had some close calls in prior years, losing in the ALCS twice in 1995 and 2000, and it seemed to all come together perfectly, until it all melted away.
I don't think people will remember this Bruins collapse decades from now (other than to be hte NHL representative in that stat). It was a first round loss, but to be honest, having watched a decent amount of the series, the Bruins did not look 43 points better than Florida. Mainly because Florida in many ways was the core of the team that was last season's closest thing to the Bruins - the prior year's President's Trophy winner that got humiliated in the playoffs. The Panthers played them even, got a couple breaks, and stole it.
The Bruins collapse isn't one of infamy like the Patriots or Warriors (who continued on to extend their dynasties for years to come, but will never, ever live down those losses). If anything, it was the world righting itself after a year where every move was correct, every button pressed was right. The Bruins were a magical team that just had their magic run out.
The final comparison with the Mariners is maybe the most uncertain, but could be the most painful. As many baseball fans know, the Mariners followed up that 116-46 season in 2001 by not making the playoffs for another 21 years (until finally doing so last year). They remained above average for a few years and had pockets of success threatening Wild Card berths, but never came close. The Bruins likely don't fall off the map, but the same cracks people wrongly saw in them heading into the season (the age, the injuries), may be more apparent next year. This might be the peak for this version of the Bruins (that or having a 3-2 lead in the 2019 Cup Final).
And for that, I hope Boston fans learn to remember what was so great about this team. They were record setting. They were incredible. They lost just four games at home all year (of course, then lost three out of four in Boston...). They had a magical 60-goal season from their best, prime player. They had the soon-to-be-named Vezina winner in net. They were outrageously dominant at times. Yes, the magic washed off too soon, but it might be better to have it done this way than prolong it.
I don't know if the Bruins put up a banner for winning the President's Trophy. Personally, I do think they should. We need to celebrate regular season achievements more. Whether it was the 2018-19 Lightning, or the 2022 Dodgers (won 111 games), or so many others. Brilliance for six months, followed by fallowness for two weeks, should not be derided - and you know i mean this when I'm defending a Boston team in this case. I hope the Bruins wear the badge of being the NHL representative on that stat with pride.
